Ships captured in Yemen to only leave on Palestine's terms: Exclusive
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Yemeni Ansar Allah spokesperson Mohammad Abdel Salam tells Al Mayadeen in an exclusive interview that Yemen would not release any captured ships but on the terms set by the Palestinian people.
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Yemeni Ansar Allah spokesperson Mohammad Abdel Salam
The criminal onslaught being waged on Palestine forces every free man to take action and underline that they stand against the Zionist arrogance and criminality, Yemeni Ansar Allah spokesperson Mohammad Abdel Salam said on Tuesday.
Speaking to Al Mayadeen during an exclusive interview, the Yemeni top official underlined that Sanaa cannot directly "support occupied Palestine. We do not share any land borders and we can not engage in land confrontations; we do not have the capabilities but to participate by launching missiles and drones and conducting naval operations."
Abdel Salam also revealed that the Yemeni Armed Forces would not hold back and that the escalations taking place might see an uptick depending on the situation on the ground in light of all the challenges being faced by the Palestinian people.
"The brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza and the historic occupation of occupied Palestine requires broad popular support, not just support from Yemen; from all the people of our Islamic and Arab worlds and all the free people of the world," the Ansar Allah spokesperson said.
US-led coalition to protect 'Israel'
In response to the operations being carried out by the Yemeni people in support of occupied Palestine and the people of Gaza, the United States military launched a new coalition in the Red Sea called "Operation Prosperity Guardian," under the guise of securing maritime trade routes. The United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain will be among the countries jointly working with the Pentagon under the coalition.
This prompts the speculation of the US aiming to turn the Red Sea into a warzone to protect Israeli interests rather than simply "keep strategic waterways safe" as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed.
"This coalition is to protect Israel, not to protect international waterways [...] This cannot be called a coalition, it is, in reality, a stillborn, weak bloc," Abdel Salam went on to say.
"The international waterways adjacent to Yemen are safe and they do not suffer from any security or military issues," the Yemeni top official said. "The Yemeni Armed Forces and Navy have repeatedly said the waterways adjacent to Yemen are safe, and no ships other than the ones heading to Israel or Israeli ships are being targeted."
He added that the coalition cannot be acceptable or used to uphold the ongoing Israeli aggression on Palestine, noting how no member state has any maritime borders in the Red Sea.
Abdel Salam went on to stress that the coalition's formation would not cause any disruptions in Yemen's operations. "The US, French, and British frigates and the military bases on the other bank of the Red Sea could not stop these Yemeni operations being carried out in support of Gaza."
Thus far, he said, all the African and Arab countries overlooking the Red Sea have received the news of the coalition's formation positively, going on to warn the parties to the coalition against making any blunders by attacking Yemen and widening the conflict. In case of a blunder, "neither the Israelis, the Americans, or the collective West will be able to deal with the repercussions of their actions.
Yemeni people stand with leadership
Asked whether the Israeli occupation and the US might use civil strife within Yemen to attempt to serve their interests, the Yemeni official said they might utilize some local mercenaries, "but this option is doomed to failure."
"The Yemeni people today of all walks of life stand with the Yemeni leadership in the face of Israeli arrogance. No Yemeni could ever accept being a defender or protector of Israel."
Since the start of the Yemeni operations in support of occupied Palestine, Abdel Salam revealed, Oman has been contacting Sanaa as a mediator to convey to them messages of exhortation and intimidation, wherein they were told that the Resistance operations might affect the humanitarian process in Yemen.
"There was also the threat of creating an international coalition to 'protect the red' or the threat of sanctions and military operations. However, Yemen's stance is not arbitrary, and it is not a show of force or in search of wars and problems; it is born out of the large-scale barbaric Israeli aggression that cannot go unanswered," he said.
He went on to underline that whichever party that might seek regional peace must go the US and the Israeli occupation and seek an end to the unjust aggression and blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Yemen, Abdel Salam said, repeatedly stressed that it would deescalate if humanitarian aid is allowed to enter Gaza. "The aid must fulfill the daily needs of the Palestinian people, and they must be sufficient, and only if that happens will Yemen look into the situation and evaluate what the next step should be."
"It is very expensive to switch to land freight from sea freight, not to mention the delay that comes with such a switch and the low quantity of goods that can be transported, which would not suffice the [Israeli] needs," he said commenting on the news of the establishment of a land bridge from the UAE to occupied Palestine.
The first batch of fresh foodstuffs arrived in "Israel" from the United Arab Emirates in the first trial of a new land bridge that is to be used instead of the Red Sea due to the Yemeni blockade on the latter, the Israeli Walla! news website reported on Saturday.
The shipment of foodstuff was transported from the UAE "through the new land bridge [used] as an alternative to the Red Sea," media reports said. The freight was transported from the UAE through Saudi Arabia then Jordan and then "Israel".
Israeli reports said the initial trial was a success, with 10 trucks making it from the UAE to occupied Palestine for the benefit of the Israeli occupation.
The trucks had to cross a distance of some 2,000 km (1,242 miles) over two days and a few hours.
Israeli media in December said an agreement was signed between the authorities of the ports of Dubai, the UAE, and Haifa, occupied Palestine, regarding the establishment of a land bridge between the two ports in a bid to avert the "Yemeni threat to shut down maritime passages."
Only Palestine to free captured ships
"Not one day has passed since the start of the operations without several ships changing course to the Cape of Hope from the Red Sea," he said.
The Ansar Allah spokesperson revealed that the ship that was captured was captured upon the requests of the Palestinian people. "It cannot leave Yemen's ports but with a decision from the people of Palestine."
It is still possible, he said, for ships that are unknown to be Israeli or bound for "Israel" to pass through the Red Sea, but this will not be the case for long.
"Yemen will remain a key partner of our Arab and Muslim people in the face of any perilous situations that might jeopardize their security and stability," he said.
"Yemen has since day one been participating in a joint operations room with our Palestinian brothers and the remainder of the Axis of Resistance," Abdel Salam added.
He went on to praise the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, saying its operations on the southern borders with occupied Palestine have posed a serious threat to the Israeli occupation and greatly depleted its resources.
"What is happening on the Lebanese-occupied-Palestinian borders is an exceptional battle [...] this is a highly significant front on which Hezbollah offered dozens of its martyrs and created a state of paranoia for the Israeli entity," he said.
He also praised the operations being carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. "It is exerting positive pressure to help clean the Arab and Islamic region arena of any foreign presence."
"This Axis helped support Palestine at a time of historic crisis, and it has repeatedly stood by its words," however, he underlined the need for more coordination, though he did note that there already is a lot of coordination, adding that the battle was going well and serving the Resistance in Palestine.
"What happened on October 7 is a strategic shift that will be taught for generations to come. It is a historic epic that revived Islamic unity in our Ummah, and it underlined that the Arab people were still alive and well," Abdel Salam stressed.
At the conclusion of his interview, the Yemeni spokesperson addressed the Palestinian Resistance, saying: "You are not alone on this front. The peoples of our Islamic and Arab states stand with you."
